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Moldova - Hancu monastery.
Hancu Monastery was raised up on a nuns’ hermitage in 1678 by the Great High Steward Mihail Hancu due to the wish of one of his daughters, who accepted monasticism under the name of Parascheva. The hermitage had the name of Viadica until the 17th century.
Because of the Tartars invasion, the nuns left the hermitage for another place approximately at the half of the 18th century. After the Russian army arrived in Basarabia under the command of Field Marshall Rumeantev in 1770-1772, the first Hancu family successors asked the hieromonah Varlaam from the Varzaresti Monastery to take care of the abandoned hermitage. Varlaam together with a group of monks, who came with him, took care of the household, and repaired the cells and in time the monastery became a living place for the monks.
In 1817 all the monks at the monastery were Moldovans, who took the habit being hallowed by the Husi bishops and the Metropolitan Bishop of Moldova. They all had good connections with the hermitages and the monasteries from all over Moldova and the Athos mountain. There were three Russian hieromonks in the monastery as well, who ran away from the liberal stream of Queen Catherine the Second. The books for the church and the manuscripts were written in Romanian.
Back in 1817 the church was built of wood, fenced, glued with clay and whitewashed. The roof of the church was made of shingle. Also, it had a belfry attached to the church. The church had an iconostasis of wood with delving flowers gilt with gold. The walls inside of the church were fashioned with many beautiful icons, 8 of which were painted on planks of wood and gilt with gold.
Hancu was the first monastic settlement of Basarabia, where the community life was introduced approximately in 1820-1822.
Both, the inner life of the hermitage, and its community household, developed significantly during the supervision of abbot Dosoftei, Bulgarian by origin.
Since its existence, more precisely at the beginning of 1836, the hermitage is considered to be a monastery. On the place where the wooden church was standing, he raised up in 1835 a church built in stone with the festival Saint Pious Parascheva, but in 1841 he had built another one dedicated to the Holy Virgin Dormition festival. He built cells for the monks as well, brought water into the monastery and took care of the administration bettering.
At the end of the 19th century, the monastery was known under the name of Hancul-Parascheva.
The lands, the fortune and the buildings of the monastery were nationalized in 1944, but in 1965 the monastery had been closed and the monks were chased away.
In 1978 the monastic ensemble was distributed to the Institute of Medicine from Chisinau that set working a sanatorium for people suffering of tuberculosis and opened a leisure station for students and employees. Saint Pious Parascheva summer church was later turned into a club.
Hancu Monastery was re-established as a place for monks in 1990. There is no information about the activity of the monks during those two years they have spent in the monastery. In 1992 the community of monks was abolished.
In the spring of 1992 the monastery for nuns is being established at Hancu. On the 10th of September, 1992, the reconstruction of the monastery was started. In 1993 the reparation of Holy Virgin Dormition winter church had been finished.
The church was framed within the body of the priory, which was built in 1841. It was painted provisionally and hallowed in the same year. In 1998 the interior of the church was repainted.
Saint Pious Parascheva summer church was erected in 1835 and repaired not earlier than 1996.
Three old buildings raised up in 1841 remain untouched on the monastery’s territory. Nuns and sisters started living there after a major overhaul. The number of the ones living there estimates 58 in 1995.
Cozia Monastery - Romania
Cozia Monastery, erected close to Călimănești by Mircea cel Bătrân in 1388 and housing his tomb, is one of the most valuable monuments of national medieval art and architecture in Romania.
Cozia features a museum of exhibiting old art: old manuscripts and prints, embroideries and objects of worship.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cozia_Monastery
Interesting te read:
www.romanianmonasteries.org/other-monasteries/cozia-monas...
Amarbayasgalant Monastery is one of the three largest Buddhist monastic centers in Mongolia. The monastery complex is located in the Iven Valley near the Selenge River, at the foot of Mount Büren-Khaan in Baruunbüren sum (district) of Selenge Province in northern Mongolia. The nearest town is Erdenet which is about 60 km to the southwest.
Amarbayasgalant was one of the very few monasteries to have partly escaped destruction during the Stalinist purges of 1937, after which only the buildings of the central section remained. Many of the monks were executed by the country's Communist regime and the monastery's artifacts, including thangkas, statues, and manuscripts were looted, although some were hidden until more fortunate times.
Today, only 28 temples remain. Restoration work began in 1988 with funds provided by UNESCO and private sources and some of the new statuary was commissioned in New Delhi, India.
Key Gompa is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located on top of a hill at an altitude of 4,166 metres above sea level, close to the Spiti River, in the Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh, Lahaul and Spiti district, India
Cozia Monastery - Romania
Cozia Monastery, erected close to Călimănești by Mircea cel Bătrân in 1388 and housing his tomb, is one of the most valuable monuments of national medieval art and architecture in Romania.
Cozia features a museum of exhibiting old art: old manuscripts and prints, embroideries and objects of worship.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cozia_Monastery
Interesting te read:
www.romanianmonasteries.org/other-monasteries/cozia-monas...
Moldova - Capriana monastery.
Capriana monastery is one of the oldest monasteries in Basarabia. It is situated only 35 km north - west of Chisinau, at the Isnovat locality, on the bunch of the river with the same name (Isnavat).
For the first time it was mentioned in charters of Alexander the Kind in the 30's of the 15 th century. The first official document which contains data about Capriana Monastery is the Alexander the Kind royal charters dating from April 25, 1420 where the following was mentioned: “for our really devoted servant and nobleman Mr. Oana Vornic we offer our country which is Moldova the villages: Cornestii and Miclausestii, and Lozova, and Sacarenii, and Vornicenii, and Dumestii, and Tiganestii, and Lavrestii, and Sadova, and Homestii. And the boundaries of these villages which represent Barcovat beginning with the territory of Varnet monastery, the Acibco apiary, the top of Lozova, the Carlanici bridge, the Fontana Mica and Fontana Mare and namely with the Tarnaucai glade, from the Chiprian’s glade with the Bac mill, from the large river meadow towards Poroseci”.
The royal legacy charter dating from February 10, 1429 is the second document which tells about Capriana Monastery from the times of Alexander the King reign:
"I am Alexander Voievod - the ruler of Moldova and I mention in this charter the fact that we gave Vasnevat monastery where Chiprian is the Superior, to our wife - princess Merena.
Initially, the monastery was named after Vasnavet, which is a river flowing near the monastery; later it was renamed into Capriana, thus honoring the name Chiprian who was the first Superior of the monastery.
In the Grigore Ureche (the chronicler) papers the following is mentioned: Petru Rares – the ruler of Moldova (1527 – 1538), (1541-1546) would have built the first stone church in locality Capriana with the Holy Virgin Dormition titulr saint. Grirore Ureche offered to the monastery a Gospel written in Slavonic language on parchment, banded with wooden covers and blown with silver. At the first page the following text was written: “Devoted and loving God Ioan Petru Voievod, with the God forgiveness becoming the ruler of the whole Moldovan land and his wife Elena, and his sons – Ilias Voievod, Shtefan and Constantin
embellished this Gispel and in October 7053 (1545) gave it to the newly built Holy Virgin Dormition Monastery which is Capriana”.
Because of economical decline and cultural stagnation, the Capriana Monastery experimented a difficult period in the XVIIth century.
Only after 1813, thanks to metropolitan bishop Gavriil Banu1escu-Bodoni, a revigoration of monastic life was registered.
With the insistence of bishops, the Capriana Monastery was given to the Zograful Monastery in 1837, the archbishop receiving the Harjauca monastery. The monastery was under the leadership of Zograful monastery till March 9, 1873. On June 29, 1940, a day after the conquest of Basarabia by Soviet troops, the whole estate of the monastery was confiscated. The last abbot of the monastery was the Superior Eugeniu (1952—1962) and the last church oration was solemnized on October 25, 1962. a day after the activity which lasted more than a half of the millennium, the monastery was closed, hieromonks tooking refuge in other parishes, monks and brothers being driven banished.
The Soviet State declared the Capriana Monastery an architectural monument governmentally protected, but at the same times the monastery begun to be foraged and crashed.
After 1962, the monastery was transformed into a sanatorium for sick children. The monastery refectory was transformed into a club where dancing parties, good cheers and weddings were organized.
With the Republic of Moldova Council of Ministers decision, the Capriana Monastery became again a place for orations; the first abbot of the monastery was archimandrite Iosif Gargalac, who was an ex- abbot at the Soruceni Monastery. With the retreating of the abbot Iosif, the monastery was conducted by hieromonk Serafim, who continued the reconstruction of the monastery.
In 1994 – 1997 the refectory of the monastery was reconstructed and transformed into church for winter orations.
The Dominican Order has at its contemplative heart the cloistered nuns who live a joyful life of prayer.
Here's a good account of their witness and life in this monastery in Buffalo, NY:
www.dominicanajournal.org/the-monastery-of-our-lady-of-th...
So instead of braving the shopping crowds on Friday, we opted for a peaceful drive in the country to see the Monastery Immaculate Conception in Ferdinand, IN.
It was not that late, but as the monastery windows were too tiny to have the daylight step in, the nuns had to bring the lights on.
Moldova - Capriana monastery.
Capriana monastery is one of the oldest monasteries in Basarabia. It is situated only 35 km north - west of Chisinau, at the Isnovat locality, on the bunch of the river with the same name (Isnavat).
For the first time it was mentioned in charters of Alexander the Kind in the 30's of the 15 th century. The first official document which contains data about Capriana Monastery is the Alexander the Kind royal charters dating from April 25, 1420 where the following was mentioned: “for our really devoted servant and nobleman Mr. Oana Vornic we offer our country which is Moldova the villages: Cornestii and Miclausestii, and Lozova, and Sacarenii, and Vornicenii, and Dumestii, and Tiganestii, and Lavrestii, and Sadova, and Homestii. And the boundaries of these villages which represent Barcovat beginning with the territory of Varnet monastery, the Acibco apiary, the top of Lozova, the Carlanici bridge, the Fontana Mica and Fontana Mare and namely with the Tarnaucai glade, from the Chiprian’s glade with the Bac mill, from the large river meadow towards Poroseci”.
The royal legacy charter dating from February 10, 1429 is the second document which tells about Capriana Monastery from the times of Alexander the King reign:
"I am Alexander Voievod - the ruler of Moldova and I mention in this charter the fact that we gave Vasnevat monastery where Chiprian is the Superior, to our wife - princess Merena.
Initially, the monastery was named after Vasnavet, which is a river flowing near the monastery; later it was renamed into Capriana, thus honoring the name Chiprian who was the first Superior of the monastery.
In the Grigore Ureche (the chronicler) papers the following is mentioned: Petru Rares – the ruler of Moldova (1527 – 1538), (1541-1546) would have built the first stone church in locality Capriana with the Holy Virgin Dormition titulr saint. Grirore Ureche offered to the monastery a Gospel written in Slavonic language on parchment, banded with wooden covers and blown with silver. At the first page the following text was written: “Devoted and loving God Ioan Petru Voievod, with the God forgiveness becoming the ruler of the whole Moldovan land and his wife Elena, and his sons – Ilias Voievod, Shtefan and Constantin
embellished this Gispel and in October 7053 (1545) gave it to the newly built Holy Virgin Dormition Monastery which is Capriana”.
Because of economical decline and cultural stagnation, the Capriana Monastery experimented a difficult period in the XVIIth century.
Only after 1813, thanks to metropolitan bishop Gavriil Banu1escu-Bodoni, a revigoration of monastic life was registered.
With the insistence of bishops, the Capriana Monastery was given to the Zograful Monastery in 1837, the archbishop receiving the Harjauca monastery. The monastery was under the leadership of Zograful monastery till March 9, 1873. On June 29, 1940, a day after the conquest of Basarabia by Soviet troops, the whole estate of the monastery was confiscated. The last abbot of the monastery was the Superior Eugeniu (1952—1962) and the last church oration was solemnized on October 25, 1962. a day after the activity which lasted more than a half of the millennium, the monastery was closed, hieromonks tooking refuge in other parishes, monks and brothers being driven banished.
The Soviet State declared the Capriana Monastery an architectural monument governmentally protected, but at the same times the monastery begun to be foraged and crashed.
After 1962, the monastery was transformed into a sanatorium for sick children. The monastery refectory was transformed into a club where dancing parties, good cheers and weddings were organized.
With the Republic of Moldova Council of Ministers decision, the Capriana Monastery became again a place for orations; the first abbot of the monastery was archimandrite Iosif Gargalac, who was an ex- abbot at the Soruceni Monastery. With the retreating of the abbot Iosif, the monastery was conducted by hieromonk Serafim, who continued the reconstruction of the monastery.
In 1994 – 1997 the refectory of the monastery was reconstructed and transformed into church for winter orations.
The Jokhang, (Tibetan: ཇོ་ཁང།, Wylie: Jo-khang, ZYPY: Qokang; Chinese: 大昭寺; pinyin: Dàzhāo Sì), also called the Qokang Monastery, Jokang, Jokhang Temple, Jokhang Monastery or Zuglagkang (Tibetan: གཙུག་ལག་ཁང༌།, Wylie: gtsug-lag-khang, ZYPY: Zuglagkang; also Tsuklakang), is located on Barkhor Square in Lhasa. For most Tibetans it is the most sacred and important temple in Tibet. It is in some regards pan-sectarian, but is controlled by the Gelug school. The temple's architectural style is a mixture of Indian vihara design, Chinese Tang Dynasty design, and Nepalese design.
It was founded during the reign of king Songsten Gampo. According to tradition, the temple was built for the two brides of the king, Princess Wencheng of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal. Both wives are said to have brought important Buddhist statues and images from China and Nepal to Tibet as part of their dowries, and they were housed here. Many Nepalese artists worked to construct this temple.
During the Bon period of Tibet the temple was (and sometimes still is), called the Zuglagkang (House of Religious Science or House of Wisdom). The term zuglag refers to the 'sciences' such as geomancy, astrology, and divination which formed part of the pre-Buddhist shamanistic religion now referred to as Bon. It is more commonly known today as the Jokhang, which means the 'House of the Buddha'.
Along with the Potala Palace, it is probably the most popular tourist attraction in Lhasa. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace," and a spiritual centre of Lhasa.
The Jokhang owns a large and very important collection of about eight hundred metal sculptures, in addition to thousands of painted scrolls known as thangkas. The statues are hidden away in temples closed to the public and access is almost impossible. During numerous visits to the Jokhang between 1980 and 1996, Ulrich von Schroeder managed to take photographs of about five hundred metal statues of interest. Among them are some extremely rare and important brass and copper statues originating from Kashmir, Northern India, Nepal, Tibet, and China. However, the most important statues of the Jokhang collection are those that date back to the Yarlung dynasty (7th–9th century).
Moldova - Capriana monastery.
Capriana monastery is one of the oldest monasteries in Basarabia. It is situated only 35 km north - west of Chisinau, at the Isnovat locality, on the bunch of the river with the same name (Isnavat).
For the first time it was mentioned in charters of Alexander the Kind in the 30's of the 15 th century. The first official document which contains data about Capriana Monastery is the Alexander the Kind royal charters dating from April 25, 1420 where the following was mentioned: “for our really devoted servant and nobleman Mr. Oana Vornic we offer our country which is Moldova the villages: Cornestii and Miclausestii, and Lozova, and Sacarenii, and Vornicenii, and Dumestii, and Tiganestii, and Lavrestii, and Sadova, and Homestii. And the boundaries of these villages which represent Barcovat beginning with the territory of Varnet monastery, the Acibco apiary, the top of Lozova, the Carlanici bridge, the Fontana Mica and Fontana Mare and namely with the Tarnaucai glade, from the Chiprian’s glade with the Bac mill, from the large river meadow towards Poroseci”.
The royal legacy charter dating from February 10, 1429 is the second document which tells about Capriana Monastery from the times of Alexander the King reign:
"I am Alexander Voievod - the ruler of Moldova and I mention in this charter the fact that we gave Vasnevat monastery where Chiprian is the Superior, to our wife - princess Merena.
Initially, the monastery was named after Vasnavet, which is a river flowing near the monastery; later it was renamed into Capriana, thus honoring the name Chiprian who was the first Superior of the monastery.
In the Grigore Ureche (the chronicler) papers the following is mentioned: Petru Rares – the ruler of Moldova (1527 – 1538), (1541-1546) would have built the first stone church in locality Capriana with the Holy Virgin Dormition titulr saint. Grirore Ureche offered to the monastery a Gospel written in Slavonic language on parchment, banded with wooden covers and blown with silver. At the first page the following text was written: “Devoted and loving God Ioan Petru Voievod, with the God forgiveness becoming the ruler of the whole Moldovan land and his wife Elena, and his sons – Ilias Voievod, Shtefan and Constantin
embellished this Gispel and in October 7053 (1545) gave it to the newly built Holy Virgin Dormition Monastery which is Capriana”.
Because of economical decline and cultural stagnation, the Capriana Monastery experimented a difficult period in the XVIIth century.
Only after 1813, thanks to metropolitan bishop Gavriil Banu1escu-Bodoni, a revigoration of monastic life was registered.
With the insistence of bishops, the Capriana Monastery was given to the Zograful Monastery in 1837, the archbishop receiving the Harjauca monastery. The monastery was under the leadership of Zograful monastery till March 9, 1873. On June 29, 1940, a day after the conquest of Basarabia by Soviet troops, the whole estate of the monastery was confiscated. The last abbot of the monastery was the Superior Eugeniu (1952—1962) and the last church oration was solemnized on October 25, 1962. a day after the activity which lasted more than a half of the millennium, the monastery was closed, hieromonks tooking refuge in other parishes, monks and brothers being driven banished.
The Soviet State declared the Capriana Monastery an architectural monument governmentally protected, but at the same times the monastery begun to be foraged and crashed.
After 1962, the monastery was transformed into a sanatorium for sick children. The monastery refectory was transformed into a club where dancing parties, good cheers and weddings were organized.
With the Republic of Moldova Council of Ministers decision, the Capriana Monastery became again a place for orations; the first abbot of the monastery was archimandrite Iosif Gargalac, who was an ex- abbot at the Soruceni Monastery. With the retreating of the abbot Iosif, the monastery was conducted by hieromonk Serafim, who continued the reconstruction of the monastery.
In 1994 – 1997 the refectory of the monastery was reconstructed and transformed into church for winter orations.
One of the many resident cats of the monastery of Paleokastritsa in Corfu.
It was a hot afternoon and everyone was suffering in the heat. Except the cats that had the sense to rest in the shade.
Even the white ones!
Amarbayasgalant Monastery is one of the three largest Buddhist monastic centers in Mongolia. The monastery complex is located in the Iven Valley near the Selenge River, at the foot of Mount Büren-Khaan in Baruunbüren sum (district) of Selenge Province in northern Mongolia. The nearest town is Erdenet which is about 60 km to the southwest.
Amarbayasgalant was one of the very few monasteries to have partly escaped destruction during the Stalinist purges of 1937, after which only the buildings of the central section remained. Many of the monks were executed by the country's Communist regime and the monastery's artifacts, including thangkas, statues, and manuscripts were looted, although some were hidden until more fortunate times.
Today, only 28 temples remain. Restoration work began in 1988 with funds provided by UNESCO and private sources and some of the new statuary was commissioned in New Delhi, India.
October 2019
St Barnabas' Monastery and Museum, Famagusta, Cyprus
Saint Barnabas Monastery & Museum
The Monastery of St. Barnabas is at the opposite side of the Salamis-Famagusta road, by the Royal Tombs. You can easily tell it by its two fairly large domes. It was built to commemorate the foremost saint of Cyprus, whose life was so intertwined with the spread of the Christian message in the years immediately following the death of Christ.
Barnabas was a native of the ancient city Salamis, and was a Jew, though his family had been settled for some time in Cyprus. His real name was in fact Joses, or Joseph; Barnabas was the name given to him by the early Christian apostles because he was recognised as `a son of Prophecy', or as Luke puts it `a son of consolation'. There is no contradiction here. Luke is merely emphasising that one of the great historic functions of prophecy was to console the believer and keep him in the faith.
He was reputed to be an inspired teacher of Christianity, but more than that he played a very great role in the development of early Christianity. He was also the man to acknowledge that Paul's conversion to Christianity was absolutely sincere, and above all he recognised the genius of Paul, whom he introduced to the Christian fellowship in Jerusalem. When Barnabas was later sent to Antioch to supervise the work of the early Church there, he had Paul as his assistant. Later still, of course, he undertook his great missionary journey with Paul, visiting among other places, his own country of Cyprus.
Finally, of course, we know certainly that Paul and Barnabas had a strong diffrence of opinion about Barnabas' nephew, John Mark, and the two friends parted company. Paul wrote later that the rift was healed but by that time Barnabas was probably already back in Cyprus.
The monastery which bears Barnabas' name was originally built in the last part of the fifth century, to commemorate the discovery of his body, and the dignity and the seniority it brought to the early Christian Church of Cyprus. Parts of the early building have been preserved in the more recent churh which was built by Archbishop Philotheos in 1756. The money for the purchase of the land on which the monastery was built, is supposed to have been provided by the Byzantine Emperor at the time Barnabas' body was found.
When you look carefully at the church you will notice the traces of the original fifth century building and also places it seems to have been enlarged and changed, probably in the very late mediaeval period. But in the main it is fairly conventional Greek Orthodox architecture of the eighteen century.
On one of the walls, the story of how Barnabas' body was shown to the Archbishop in a dream, is rendered in small pictures. These were done in the present century, but some of the icons and statues are a good deal older.
On another wall, somewhat incongruously, hang wax replicas of limbs in a gesture of gratitude for the ailing limbs which the Apostle Barnabas is supposed to have miraculously cured. Close by, the image of st. Heraklion stares at you from every angle you choose. All these items, ancient and modern have been very well looked after and are shown with great oride by the curator of the church.
The marble columns supporting the domes are conspicuous and rather spectacular. It is impossible to be certain, but these may well have come from Salamis. In one sense, the little rock tomb in which Barnabas is supposed to have been found gives the authentic flavour of the Christian evangelist and martyr much more effectively.
The church of St Barnabas is exactly as it was when its last three monks left it in 1976. The church apparatus ; pulpits, wooden lectern, and pews are still in place. It houses a rich collection of painted and gilt icons mostly dating from the 18th century.
The carved blocks and capital blocks in the garden and cloister courtyard come from Salamis. The black basalt grinding mill come from Enkomi.
The cloister of the monastery have recently been restored and at present serve as the archaeological museum. This section houses an exquisite collection of ancient pottery displayed chronologically, representing the changes in morphology and decoration of pottery in Cyprus from the Neolithic to the Roman times. The rest of the collection covers bronze and marble art objects.
Moldova - Capriana monastery.
Capriana monastery is one of the oldest monasteries in Basarabia. It is situated only 35 km north - west of Chisinau, at the Isnovat locality, on the bunch of the river with the same name (Isnavat).
For the first time it was mentioned in charters of Alexander the Kind in the 30's of the 15 th century. The first official document which contains data about Capriana Monastery is the Alexander the Kind royal charters dating from April 25, 1420 where the following was mentioned: “for our really devoted servant and nobleman Mr. Oana Vornic we offer our country which is Moldova the villages: Cornestii and Miclausestii, and Lozova, and Sacarenii, and Vornicenii, and Dumestii, and Tiganestii, and Lavrestii, and Sadova, and Homestii. And the boundaries of these villages which represent Barcovat beginning with the territory of Varnet monastery, the Acibco apiary, the top of Lozova, the Carlanici bridge, the Fontana Mica and Fontana Mare and namely with the Tarnaucai glade, from the Chiprian’s glade with the Bac mill, from the large river meadow towards Poroseci”.
The royal legacy charter dating from February 10, 1429 is the second document which tells about Capriana Monastery from the times of Alexander the King reign:
"I am Alexander Voievod - the ruler of Moldova and I mention in this charter the fact that we gave Vasnevat monastery where Chiprian is the Superior, to our wife - princess Merena.
Initially, the monastery was named after Vasnavet, which is a river flowing near the monastery; later it was renamed into Capriana, thus honoring the name Chiprian who was the first Superior of the monastery.
In the Grigore Ureche (the chronicler) papers the following is mentioned: Petru Rares – the ruler of Moldova (1527 – 1538), (1541-1546) would have built the first stone church in locality Capriana with the Holy Virgin Dormition titulr saint. Grirore Ureche offered to the monastery a Gospel written in Slavonic language on parchment, banded with wooden covers and blown with silver. At the first page the following text was written: “Devoted and loving God Ioan Petru Voievod, with the God forgiveness becoming the ruler of the whole Moldovan land and his wife Elena, and his sons – Ilias Voievod, Shtefan and Constantin
embellished this Gispel and in October 7053 (1545) gave it to the newly built Holy Virgin Dormition Monastery which is Capriana”.
Because of economical decline and cultural stagnation, the Capriana Monastery experimented a difficult period in the XVIIth century.
Only after 1813, thanks to metropolitan bishop Gavriil Banu1escu-Bodoni, a revigoration of monastic life was registered.
With the insistence of bishops, the Capriana Monastery was given to the Zograful Monastery in 1837, the archbishop receiving the Harjauca monastery. The monastery was under the leadership of Zograful monastery till March 9, 1873. On June 29, 1940, a day after the conquest of Basarabia by Soviet troops, the whole estate of the monastery was confiscated. The last abbot of the monastery was the Superior Eugeniu (1952—1962) and the last church oration was solemnized on October 25, 1962. a day after the activity which lasted more than a half of the millennium, the monastery was closed, hieromonks tooking refuge in other parishes, monks and brothers being driven banished.
The Soviet State declared the Capriana Monastery an architectural monument governmentally protected, but at the same times the monastery begun to be foraged and crashed.
After 1962, the monastery was transformed into a sanatorium for sick children. The monastery refectory was transformed into a club where dancing parties, good cheers and weddings were organized.
With the Republic of Moldova Council of Ministers decision, the Capriana Monastery became again a place for orations; the first abbot of the monastery was archimandrite Iosif Gargalac, who was an ex- abbot at the Soruceni Monastery. With the retreating of the abbot Iosif, the monastery was conducted by hieromonk Serafim, who continued the reconstruction of the monastery.
In 1994 – 1997 the refectory of the monastery was reconstructed and transformed into church for winter orations.
Moldova - Capriana monastery.
Capriana monastery is one of the oldest monasteries in Basarabia. It is situated only 35 km north - west of Chisinau, at the Isnovat locality, on the bunch of the river with the same name (Isnavat).
For the first time it was mentioned in charters of Alexander the Kind in the 30's of the 15 th century. The first official document which contains data about Capriana Monastery is the Alexander the Kind royal charters dating from April 25, 1420 where the following was mentioned: “for our really devoted servant and nobleman Mr. Oana Vornic we offer our country which is Moldova the villages: Cornestii and Miclausestii, and Lozova, and Sacarenii, and Vornicenii, and Dumestii, and Tiganestii, and Lavrestii, and Sadova, and Homestii. And the boundaries of these villages which represent Barcovat beginning with the territory of Varnet monastery, the Acibco apiary, the top of Lozova, the Carlanici bridge, the Fontana Mica and Fontana Mare and namely with the Tarnaucai glade, from the Chiprian’s glade with the Bac mill, from the large river meadow towards Poroseci”.
The royal legacy charter dating from February 10, 1429 is the second document which tells about Capriana Monastery from the times of Alexander the King reign:
"I am Alexander Voievod - the ruler of Moldova and I mention in this charter the fact that we gave Vasnevat monastery where Chiprian is the Superior, to our wife - princess Merena.
Initially, the monastery was named after Vasnavet, which is a river flowing near the monastery; later it was renamed into Capriana, thus honoring the name Chiprian who was the first Superior of the monastery.
In the Grigore Ureche (the chronicler) papers the following is mentioned: Petru Rares – the ruler of Moldova (1527 – 1538), (1541-1546) would have built the first stone church in locality Capriana with the Holy Virgin Dormition titulr saint. Grirore Ureche offered to the monastery a Gospel written in Slavonic language on parchment, banded with wooden covers and blown with silver. At the first page the following text was written: “Devoted and loving God Ioan Petru Voievod, with the God forgiveness becoming the ruler of the whole Moldovan land and his wife Elena, and his sons – Ilias Voievod, Shtefan and Constantin
embellished this Gispel and in October 7053 (1545) gave it to the newly built Holy Virgin Dormition Monastery which is Capriana”.
Because of economical decline and cultural stagnation, the Capriana Monastery experimented a difficult period in the XVIIth century.
Only after 1813, thanks to metropolitan bishop Gavriil Banu1escu-Bodoni, a revigoration of monastic life was registered.
With the insistence of bishops, the Capriana Monastery was given to the Zograful Monastery in 1837, the archbishop receiving the Harjauca monastery. The monastery was under the leadership of Zograful monastery till March 9, 1873. On June 29, 1940, a day after the conquest of Basarabia by Soviet troops, the whole estate of the monastery was confiscated. The last abbot of the monastery was the Superior Eugeniu (1952—1962) and the last church oration was solemnized on October 25, 1962. a day after the activity which lasted more than a half of the millennium, the monastery was closed, hieromonks tooking refuge in other parishes, monks and brothers being driven banished.
The Soviet State declared the Capriana Monastery an architectural monument governmentally protected, but at the same times the monastery begun to be foraged and crashed.
After 1962, the monastery was transformed into a sanatorium for sick children. The monastery refectory was transformed into a club where dancing parties, good cheers and weddings were organized.
With the Republic of Moldova Council of Ministers decision, the Capriana Monastery became again a place for orations; the first abbot of the monastery was archimandrite Iosif Gargalac, who was an ex- abbot at the Soruceni Monastery. With the retreating of the abbot Iosif, the monastery was conducted by hieromonk Serafim, who continued the reconstruction of the monastery.
In 1994 – 1997 the refectory of the monastery was reconstructed and transformed into church for winter orations.
Yerits Mankants Monastery (17th century) is located in Martakert Province. It is the most notable example of monasteries built during the late middle ages in Artsakh. Yerits Mankants monastery was built around 1691 in the historical county of Jraberd
© PanARMENIAN Photo /Davit Hakobyan
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The vast square cloister (55 x 55 m) of the monastery has vaults with wide arches and equally wide windows. On top of the lower storey a more recessed upper-storey is resting. The construction of such a cloister was a novelty at the time.
Amarbayasgalant Monastery is one of the three largest Buddhist monastic centers in Mongolia. The monastery complex is located in the Iven Valley near the Selenge River, at the foot of Mount Büren-Khaan in Baruunbüren sum (district) of Selenge Province in northern Mongolia. The nearest town is Erdenet which is about 60 km to the southwest.
Amarbayasgalant was one of the very few monasteries to have partly escaped destruction during the Stalinist purges of 1937, after which only the buildings of the central section remained. Many of the monks were executed by the country's Communist regime and the monastery's artifacts, including thangkas, statues, and manuscripts were looted, although some were hidden until more fortunate times.
Today, only 28 temples remain. Restoration work began in 1988 with funds provided by UNESCO and private sources and some of the new statuary was commissioned in New Delhi, India.
Schoenthal Monastery, first mentioned in 1145, includes one of the oldest churches in Switzerland. It is considered a showpiece of Romanesque architecture. Its western façade features ashlar masonry, a portal with a depiction of a lamb carrying a cross, and an arch supported by a lion baring its teeth on one side, and by a man on the other. The inscription on the arch reads: HIC EST RODO.
Of the murals on the inside of the church, a depiction of St. Christopher has been preserved above the gateway to the cloister dating from about 1310/20. Behind the eastern façade, fragments can be seen of an angel swinging a censer; these date from around 1430. The bell in the steeple was cast in Aarau in the 15th century. The deconsecrated monastery was used for various commercial purposes over a period of 500 years. As of 1986, the new owner had extensive renovations carried out in collaboration with the canton’s departments of archaeology and the preservation of historical monuments. The latter recommended using the traditional plaster made of slaked lime.
Amarbayasgalant Monastery is one of the three largest Buddhist monastic centers in Mongolia. The monastery complex is located in the Iven Valley near the Selenge River, at the foot of Mount Büren-Khaan in Baruunbüren sum (district) of Selenge Province in northern Mongolia. The nearest town is Erdenet which is about 60 km to the southwest.
Amarbayasgalant was one of the very few monasteries to have partly escaped destruction during the Stalinist purges of 1937, after which only the buildings of the central section remained. Many of the monks were executed by the country's Communist regime and the monastery's artifacts, including thangkas, statues, and manuscripts were looted, although some were hidden until more fortunate times.
Today, only 28 temples remain. Restoration work began in 1988 with funds provided by UNESCO and private sources and some of the new statuary was commissioned in New Delhi, India.
Moldova - Capriana monastery.
Capriana monastery is one of the oldest monasteries in Basarabia. It is situated only 35 km north - west of Chisinau, at the Isnovat locality, on the bunch of the river with the same name (Isnavat).
For the first time it was mentioned in charters of Alexander the Kind in the 30's of the 15 th century. The first official document which contains data about Capriana Monastery is the Alexander the Kind royal charters dating from April 25, 1420 where the following was mentioned: “for our really devoted servant and nobleman Mr. Oana Vornic we offer our country which is Moldova the villages: Cornestii and Miclausestii, and Lozova, and Sacarenii, and Vornicenii, and Dumestii, and Tiganestii, and Lavrestii, and Sadova, and Homestii. And the boundaries of these villages which represent Barcovat beginning with the territory of Varnet monastery, the Acibco apiary, the top of Lozova, the Carlanici bridge, the Fontana Mica and Fontana Mare and namely with the Tarnaucai glade, from the Chiprian’s glade with the Bac mill, from the large river meadow towards Poroseci”.
The royal legacy charter dating from February 10, 1429 is the second document which tells about Capriana Monastery from the times of Alexander the King reign:
"I am Alexander Voievod - the ruler of Moldova and I mention in this charter the fact that we gave Vasnevat monastery where Chiprian is the Superior, to our wife - princess Merena.
Initially, the monastery was named after Vasnavet, which is a river flowing near the monastery; later it was renamed into Capriana, thus honoring the name Chiprian who was the first Superior of the monastery.
In the Grigore Ureche (the chronicler) papers the following is mentioned: Petru Rares – the ruler of Moldova (1527 – 1538), (1541-1546) would have built the first stone church in locality Capriana with the Holy Virgin Dormition titulr saint. Grirore Ureche offered to the monastery a Gospel written in Slavonic language on parchment, banded with wooden covers and blown with silver. At the first page the following text was written: “Devoted and loving God Ioan Petru Voievod, with the God forgiveness becoming the ruler of the whole Moldovan land and his wife Elena, and his sons – Ilias Voievod, Shtefan and Constantin
embellished this Gispel and in October 7053 (1545) gave it to the newly built Holy Virgin Dormition Monastery which is Capriana”.
Because of economical decline and cultural stagnation, the Capriana Monastery experimented a difficult period in the XVIIth century.
Only after 1813, thanks to metropolitan bishop Gavriil Banu1escu-Bodoni, a revigoration of monastic life was registered.
With the insistence of bishops, the Capriana Monastery was given to the Zograful Monastery in 1837, the archbishop receiving the Harjauca monastery. The monastery was under the leadership of Zograful monastery till March 9, 1873. On June 29, 1940, a day after the conquest of Basarabia by Soviet troops, the whole estate of the monastery was confiscated. The last abbot of the monastery was the Superior Eugeniu (1952—1962) and the last church oration was solemnized on October 25, 1962. a day after the activity which lasted more than a half of the millennium, the monastery was closed, hieromonks tooking refuge in other parishes, monks and brothers being driven banished.
The Soviet State declared the Capriana Monastery an architectural monument governmentally protected, but at the same times the monastery begun to be foraged and crashed.
After 1962, the monastery was transformed into a sanatorium for sick children. The monastery refectory was transformed into a club where dancing parties, good cheers and weddings were organized.
With the Republic of Moldova Council of Ministers decision, the Capriana Monastery became again a place for orations; the first abbot of the monastery was archimandrite Iosif Gargalac, who was an ex- abbot at the Soruceni Monastery. With the retreating of the abbot Iosif, the monastery was conducted by hieromonk Serafim, who continued the reconstruction of the monastery.
In 1994 – 1997 the refectory of the monastery was reconstructed and transformed into church for winter orations.
Sucevița Monastery is an Eastern Orthodox convent situated in the Northeastern part of Romania. It is situated near the Suceviţa River, in the village Sucevița, 18 km away from the city of Rădăuţi, Suceava County. It is located in the southern part of the historical region of Bukovina. It was built in 1585 by Ieremia Movilă, Gheorghe Movilă and Simion Movilă.[1]
The architecture ot the church contains both Byzantine and Gothic elements, and some elements typical to other painted churches of northern Moldavia. Both interior and exterior walls are covered by mural paintings, which are of great artistic value and depict biblical episodes from the Old and New Testament. The paintings date from around 1601, which makes Suceviţa one of the last monasteries to be decorated in the famous Moldavian style of exterior paintings.
The interior court of the monastic ensemble is almost square (100 by 104 meters) and is surrounded by high (6 m), wide (3 m) walls. There are several other defensive structures within the ensemble, including four towers (one in each corner). Sucevița was a princely residence as well as a fortified monastery. The thick walls today shelter a museum that presents an outstanding collection of historical and art objects. The tomb covers of Ieremia and Simion Movilă – rich portraits embroidered in silver thread – together with ecclesiastical silverware, books and illuminated manuscripts, offer eloquent testimony to Sucevița's importance first as a manuscript workshop, then as a printing center.
In 2010, the monastery has been inscribed by UNESCO on its list of World Heritage Sites.
Camera: Minolta Hi-Matic 7SII
Film: Kodak Ektar 100
Scanner: Epson V500 (scanned from negative)
Lhatse - Sakya - Shigatse - Tibetan Plateau - Tibet Autonomous Region - China
Narthang Monastery - Sakya Monastery
Narthang Monastery is a monastery located 15 km west of Shigatse in Tibet. Founded in 1153 by one of the disciples of Atisha, Nathang was the fourth great monastery of Tsang with Shalu Monastery, Sakya and Tashilhunpo. Narthang was first famous for its scriptual teaching and monastic discipline. After the fourteenth century it gained great eminence as the oldest of Tibet's three great printing centres (the other being the Potala and the Derge).
The Fifth Panchen Lama took control of the monastery and it continued printing the Buddhist scriptures the Kangyur and the Tengyur up until 1959. Narrthang's five main buildings and large chanting hall were razed to the ground by the Chinese in 1966. They had contained priceless 14th century murals possibly painted by the artist scholars of nearby Shalu Monastery. Today only the mud-brick foundations can be discerned although parts of the Mongolian styled high-fortress walls are still standing.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narthang_Monastery
Shigatse, officially known as Xigazê, is a prefecture-level city of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, It is located within the historical Tsang province of Tibet.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shigatse
With jeep on the road.
The Tibetan Plateau, also known in China as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qingzang Plateau or Himalayan Plateau, is a vast elevated plateau in Central Asia or East Asia, covering most of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province in western China, as well as part of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir state of India. It stretches approximately 1,000 kilometres north to south and 2,500 kilometres east to west. With an average elevation exceeding 4,500 metres , the Tibetan Plateau is sometimes called "the Roof of the World" and is the world's highest and largest plateau, with an area of 2,500,000 square kilometres (about five times the size of Metropolitan France). Sometimes termed the "Third Pole", the Tibetan Plateau is the headwaters of the drainage basins of most of the streams in surrounding regions. Its tens of thousands of glaciers and other geographical and ecological features serve as a "water tower" storing water and maintaining flow. The impact of global warming on the Tibetan Plateau is of intense scientific interest.
This is an unknown but abandoned monastery near Mandalay countryside that a local brought me to.
Shot with Ilford Delta100
The Jokhang, (Tibetan: ཇོ་ཁང།, Wylie: Jo-khang, ZYPY: Qokang; Chinese: 大昭寺; pinyin: Dàzhāo Sì), also called the Qokang Monastery, Jokang, Jokhang Temple, Jokhang Monastery or Zuglagkang (Tibetan: གཙུག་ལག་ཁང༌།, Wylie: gtsug-lag-khang, ZYPY: Zuglagkang; also Tsuklakang), is located on Barkhor Square in Lhasa. For most Tibetans it is the most sacred and important temple in Tibet. It is in some regards pan-sectarian, but is controlled by the Gelug school. The temple's architectural style is a mixture of Indian vihara design, Chinese Tang Dynasty design, and Nepalese design.
It was founded during the reign of king Songsten Gampo. According to tradition, the temple was built for the two brides of the king, Princess Wencheng of the Chinese Tang Dynasty and Princess Bhrikuti of Nepal. Both wives are said to have brought important Buddhist statues and images from China and Nepal to Tibet as part of their dowries, and they were housed here. Many Nepalese artists worked to construct this temple.
During the Bon period of Tibet the temple was (and sometimes still is), called the Zuglagkang (House of Religious Science or House of Wisdom). The term zuglag refers to the 'sciences' such as geomancy, astrology, and divination which formed part of the pre-Buddhist shamanistic religion now referred to as Bon. It is more commonly known today as the Jokhang, which means the 'House of the Buddha'.
Along with the Potala Palace, it is probably the most popular tourist attraction in Lhasa. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace," and a spiritual centre of Lhasa.
The Jokhang owns a large and very important collection of about eight hundred metal sculptures, in addition to thousands of painted scrolls known as thangkas. The statues are hidden away in temples closed to the public and access is almost impossible. During numerous visits to the Jokhang between 1980 and 1996, Ulrich von Schroeder managed to take photographs of about five hundred metal statues of interest. Among them are some extremely rare and important brass and copper statues originating from Kashmir, Northern India, Nepal, Tibet, and China. However, the most important statues of the Jokhang collection are those that date back to the Yarlung dynasty (7th–9th century).
Amarbayasgalant Monastery is one of the three largest Buddhist monastic centers in Mongolia. The monastery complex is located in the Iven Valley near the Selenge River, at the foot of Mount Büren-Khaan in Baruunbüren sum (district) of Selenge Province in northern Mongolia. The nearest town is Erdenet which is about 60 km to the southwest.
Amarbayasgalant was one of the very few monasteries to have partly escaped destruction during the Stalinist purges of 1937, after which only the buildings of the central section remained. Many of the monks were executed by the country's Communist regime and the monastery's artifacts, including thangkas, statues, and manuscripts were looted, although some were hidden until more fortunate times.
Today, only 28 temples remain. Restoration work began in 1988 with funds provided by UNESCO and private sources and some of the new statuary was commissioned in New Delhi, India.
Stakna Monastery.
Stakna Gompa of Ladakh is situated on the right bank of the Indus River, at a distance of approximately 25 km from the town of Leh. The name, 'Stakna' literally means 'tiger's nose'. The monastery was so named because it was built on a hill, which is shaped just like a tiger's nose.
Stakna Monastery of Leh Ladakh owes its inception to Chosje Jamyang Palkar, the great scholar saint of Bhutan. It formed a part of the many religious estates offered by the Dharmaraja Jamyang Namgial to the saint, around 1580 AD.
The central image inside the monastery is that of the sacred Arya Avalokitesvara from Kamrup (Assam). Stakna belongs to the Dugpa order and serves as the residence of approximately 30 monks. The successive reincarnations of the Stakna Tulku continue to serve as the incumbents of the monastery, preserving the teachings of the Dugpa order. Stakna Gompa also has a number of monasteries attached to it, namely Mud and Kharu and those of Stakrimo, Bardan and Sani in Zanskar.
On entering the central courtyard, one comes across the Dukhang (main assembly hall). The head lama got seven feet high, silver gilted chorten erected inside the Dukhang, in the 1950s. The chorten comprises of a statue of the Buddha as well as numerous Buddhist texts. The left wall of the Dukhang is adorned with three new paintings, those of the Tsephakmad (a Buddhist deity), Sakyamni (the Historical Buddha) and Amchi (the Medical Buddha).
The wall opposite to the Dukhang entrance is also painted with three images, those of a Bodhisattva, Padma Sambhava (8th century Indian Buddhist scholar and translator of Buddhist texts into Tibetan) and Tshong-san-gompo (an early king of Tibet). To the right of the hall are the statues of Sakyamuni (Past Buddha), the Present Buddha and Maitreya (Future Buddha). And, the throne of the head lama of Stakna lies on the left side of the Dukhang